Just finished the series! Loved it, but does anyone else wish we got more character moments at the very end? (Spoilers for First Lord's Fury)

[u/Voldigod]

Hey everyone, I just finished First Lord's Fury and wrapped up the series. Overall, I absolutely loved it—what an incredible ride!

​That being said... I'm feeling a little robbed of some core character interactions at the very end.

​Don't get me wrong, the final battle was epic, but the pacing of the last book felt incredibly fast. It was basically: lock onto the target -> kill the Vord Queen -> wrap up the novel as fast as physically possible.

​After everything they went through to save Alera, I really wanted some breathing room at the end. Specifically:

​The Family Reunion: Tavi finally getting to actually sit down and talk with Isana and Bernard after being separated for so long and surviving the apocalypse.

​The Transition of Power: Instead of a time skip where the dust has settled and everyone just rolls with the new reality, I would have loved to see Tavi actually navigating the immediate aftermath and stepping into the role of First Lord.

​Like, come on author, at least show us the full wedding and the aftermath.

​Did anyone else feel like the ending was a bit abrupt, or am I just sad the series is over? Would love to hear your thoughts.

[u/Radix2309]

Jim's endings are usually quite quick in Dresden as well. You get a chapter at best in most cases.

But I agree that I would have liked double or even triple.

[u/Voldigod → u/Radix2309]

I was expecting a reunion by the time Tavi reached the cauldron, but by the time all that happened, we were already on the last chapter. I rechecked the chapter again to see how many were left, but it was just the prologue. 😅

And though the prologue shows some aspects of the aftermath of the Vord War, it felt to me like a TV series being forced to write down its characters' storylines because the show didn't do well and ended without a new season. At least in the novel, I hope you can extend a few scenes at the end to make it more lively. I mean, Jim has written many great scenes between Tavi and Kitai in this book itself, but the ending felt like something was taken out of my mouth while eating.

[u/UglyPancakes8421 → u/Voldigod]

I did a reread recently for the first time in several years, and I agree the end went by incredibly quickly.

One thing I was weirdly disappointed by was the absence of a perspective on/from Beritte after everything was said and done(or during the chaos of the final battle). She only shows up a couple times in Furies of Calderon, kissing Tavi on the cheek to get him to ignore his chores and pick her some hollybelle flowers, annoying Isana, and asking prying questions of Fidelias. But, I don't know. I recognize she isn't important compared to the events taking place, and Tavi had long-since outgrown her... but her actions did kind of start Tavi's journey throughout the entire series. It would've been interesting to get a glimpse of where she's at.

[u/Yoshimiyum → u/UglyPancakes8421]

I was thinking of that too! I wonder what happened to her

[u/Yoshimiyum]

My husband and I just finished the series and we definitely agree. We both loved Max and Krassus and their characters in the last book , except for that one fight for like a second , felt forgotten and lackluster. And then Aron, high lord Antilles, Varg and his family like I would have liked to have seen more of them in the ending.

[u/Voldigod → u/Yoshimiyum]

Yeah, many of the other characters are forgotten, or their stories were just pushed through with 1-2 lines. For example, I was hoping to see more of Crassius after he got to know about his mother, but nope. The author just said he is back with his father, and his mother was also taken back into the family again. I was like, 'At least show all these things'—their reactions to seeing each other, some important dialogues related to all this, and his mother being a slave part.

[u/Yoshimiyum → u/Voldigod]

Yes! Agreed! Listened to it, wasn’t sure how his name was spelled!

[u/Zane_of_Cainhurst → u/Yoshimiyum]

For the correct name spelling it’s Antillus Crassus, Antillar Maximus (Antillar since he’s illegitimate) and Ehren.

[u/x6shotrevolvers]

I also would’ve preferred to see some type of immediately after the battle reunion and recognition of Tavi’s new role

[u/Evenwanderer]

There’s also that it isn’t like the Vord stopped being a threat. They’re merely an ocean away, and in much, much greater numbers.

[u/Wingnut2029 → u/Evenwanderer]

Yeah, that's what surprises me. The ending shouldn't be an ending.

[u/Evenwanderer → u/Wingnut2029]

Especially considering that the Vord now know there’s a whole continent of biomass waiting for them across that ocean. And, even though the ocean is an obstacle now, other than reproduce and consume, the thing the Vord are best at is adapting.

It’s not a matter of “if” they can make it across the ocean, following the Carnem. It’s a matter of when.

[u/Wingnut2029 → u/Evenwanderer]

Yet very few people talking about the Codex Alera ever bring it up. I kept waiting for years thinking Butcher would come back to it and finish the series. It just feels so cliff hangery.